Given that millage funds represent 42 percent of CATA’s operating budget, it stands to reason services would be drastically cut if the millage does not pass. For MSU, there wouldn’t be a change to on-campus services because the university pays for the routes. In the short run, those routes will continue to exist no matter what happens. In the long run, they might disappear if CATA can’t find a way to run a profitable service.

The bad news is for students who live off campus. Students who live out near Chandler Crossings, Dover’s Crossing, Trappers Cove or any number of places not near campus will lose a cheap, easy alternative for commuting to campus or work. As nutritional sciences junior Ryo Namiki pointed out, “I live out at Chandler (Road), so getting back and forth is made easy with the bus. I could bike, but then you get all sweaty. I could drive and park on campus, but that’s expensive.” And that’s only when it is warm outside. When the Michigan winter finally sets in, the weather can make walking and biking particularly treacherous.

Both off-campus students and homeowners would end up paying for the millage. Even though it is rare for a student to own a home, students will pay indirectly because the landlords we rent from can raise rent to reflect the additional mills. Even if that happened it wouldn’t be much. A yearly tax of $300 breaks down to about $25 a month or $6 a week. That’s the cost of two beers. Comparatively, for 60 cents a student can ride from one end of East Lansing to the other. Throw in a transfer and one could take a round trip from the Meridian Mall to the Lansing Mall for a little more than $1. That’s a pretty good investment.

There a lot of intangibles involved with public transportation and it can be difficult to decide whether something is convenient or necessary. Given the high number of rides CATA provides per year — 3 million for MSU last year — it seems the service has answered the question of whether it is worthy of taxpayer money.